Who is playing in the A-League this weekend? It doesn’t really seem to matter, because all the talk right now is about expansion.
Adelaide United’s clash with Brisbane Roar at Coopers Stadium tonight should have fans buzzing, with the Aloisi brothers returning to their home town to try and get one over wily German counterparts Marco Kurz and Filip Tapalovic.
It’s a clash of fourth versus sixth in a boutique stadium on a Friday night when there’s not a lot of other major sporting action taking place.
And the whole thing has been overshadowed by the fact that all anyone really wants to talk about is expansion.
Want to know how often Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar have met in the A-League? At least 42 times by my reckoning.
And unless the new Football Federation Australia board votes on December 12 to expand the A-League next season, the next six meetings between the two sides could be about as memorable as the past 40 of those fixtures.
So let’s address the elephant in the room here.
How much money is expansion going to cost? And how much is it going to generate? And who, in the long run, is paying for all this?
Because there’s been a tendency for some time now to expect Fox Sports to pay for everything.
And if you apply the standard business logic that they would like a return on their investment, then the fact that TV ratings are reported to be down by as much as 32 per cent on last season spells trouble.
Expanding the league might provide some much-needed new content, but it will also add to Fox Sport’s production costs.
Should they blithely be expected to foot those costs when ratings are dwindling and new subscribers are thin on the ground?
Here’s hoping they’re willing to take that gamble.
Then there’s the fact that expanding to a 12-team league next season could potentially lead to a lopsided fixture list.
If each side played each other home and away it would only amount to a 22-game season – not nearly enough for a professional league, to say nothing of the fact that the Asian Football Confederation requires teams to play a minimum of 27 games to qualify for the AFC Champions League.
As Vince Rugari wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, either the season would need to be extended, or teams would play certain opponents more often than others.
But these are all minor details compared to the real question at hand, which is – of course – which two teams will be admitted into an expanded A-League?
Six contenders remain, namely the Western Melbourne Group, Team 11, South Melbourne, Macarthur-South West Sydney, Southern Expansion and Canberra.
If you believe the online chatter, there’ll almost certainly be one new team each from both Sydney and Melbourne when the A-League next expands.
Derbies are the beating heart of the A-League.
The question on everybody’s lips – or fingertips, if you’re going by social media – is precisely when that will happen.
Already there’s been talk of the FFA not only trying to wring every last dollar from potential new clubs, but also that expansion might be delayed for yet another 12 months.
And while the former sounds familiar, the latter simply cannot be allowed to happen.
If we want a perfect example of what a waste of time looks like, we only need to look back to last season.
The A-League cannot afford to waste another year.
It goes without saying that new clubs need to be financially viable, but by the same token, it’s the FFA’s own conservatism that has brought the A-League to its knees.
We need two new clubs next season. Not more debate, not more consultancy fees, but action.
Because without an injection of new excitement and storylines, the A-League risks becoming the saddest of all clichés – a broken record.
MarkfromCroydon
Roar Pro
I'd love to be your accountant Mike. Lets see, 2 sessions at $80 each, that will be $2.5 million for my fee please Mr Tuckerman. Am I the only one who actually reads the figures written down in articles? Take look at the mistakes in the Daily Telegraph article please.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
You can write whatever you want but, equally, we can respond however we want. My response is one of confusion...you claim to be passionate about Australian Football but, in your articles, seem determined to find things wrong with it. When you do find something positive you inevitably qualify your praise by saying or implying ‘if only that happened more often - sigh!!’. Whether that is a personality thing or a click-seeking thing, it’s not unfair or unkind for frustrated your Football-fan readers to ask why you do it.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
What next - ban the word negative because it sounds negative? All I do is watch the football and then write about it. How you interpret it is up to you.
con tripodis
Guest
del piero worked in sydney and only for the first year attendances went down in the second, would not work in melbourne we dont need rezzamatez thats a sydney thing ,import should be cut to 3 per club
con tripodis
Guest
more import are you for real , wow that is the worst opinion i have ever read in my life i would rather watch an exciting azani , viduka , trimboli , farina, than a has been from second division spanish league
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I still think other bids are in front of it, but we're just saying that they have jumped from a position of having zero chance, to now having a bit of look.
con tripodis
Guest
sorry franko who's time is gone, who decides that, only evolution can decide when a community has no passion for the game not dictatorships ,the greek community in melb is massive and in the victorian top league NPL there are 6 greek community football clubs ,look frank lets be realistic we are here to stay and we are passionate, we do deserve a team in the A league because we can hold our own and finance it, so what is wrong with that ,the italian community has given up on supporting the game they all follow AFL carlton, good luck to them, any other opinion against south melb being included or any other strong healthy ethnic team that can hold its own is TOTAL racism sorry to say , where are we living in some fascist run nation ,let me remind people in fascist Italy under Mousolini there was a hellas verona and was allowed to function its still alive and well in seria A ,games are broadcast in italian and greek even today ,in apartheid south Africa there was a pan hellenic club it is still there, are we worse then this regimes , south melb deserve to be there because it has a stadium a community that was not ready to give up its support for soccer ,its got the best history produced great players great coaches ,great atmosphere and great passion or is every one afraid because ones we get in we are going to kick some ass ,let me explain why we will succeed, its like a good restaurant for a European to go in to one and give patronage the food has to be great well its the same for passionate Europeans they demand great football not Central coast and wellington phoenix rubbish
Bob
Guest
Well said Redondo exactly my thoughts. Will the league ever be good enough? For some people perhaps not! Agreed headlines like " The league must do this, needs this etc" imply the league is pretty bad as it is. So the people who are writing this stuff, I ask the question: at what point will you ever be happy and satisfied with how things are?
con tripodis
Guest
oh yeh canberra needs to get in with the help of massive bias, great mate thats why soccer is going nowhere
Nick Symonds
Guest
NEWS: Rugby League to be played at Camp Nou Wigan Warriors against Catalan Dragons (Perpignan, France) https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/rugby-league-to-be-played-at-camp-nou - Will Rugby League take over in Spain before the A-League expands over here? Or AFLX?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
looks good Kangas, for Newcastle fans
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Absolutely Midfielder. It's great work by Awer, and yes, the media would be all over this if it was any other sport.
max power
Guest
fox is keeping you off life support
Mister Football
Roar Guru
In the AFL situation, they want less games, different scenario with the A-League which wants to play more than 22 games. The alternative is that the FFA plays however many games it wants, and Fox simply reduces the amount of games it covers each round, maybe starting with Nix games.
Fadida
Guest
Who's chasing their losses? These are new franchises. Financially loaded
Fadida
Guest
It'd be a meaningless competition, there simply to have 4 extra games. Pointless and with no interest. Even the AFL couldn't convince it's fans to watch a second competition, and they have nothing else to watch!!!!
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Well, I won't be around to display my public discourse should it happen. I'm a man of my word. I will not comment on this forum again should I be wrong.
Dart
Guest
My preferred structure is: - A-League, 14 teams (26 rounds) with top four making finals/Asia, top 8 getting FFA Cup seeding, 13th (lucky for some) relegation playoff, 14th relegated. No salary cap (hence big 6 are unlikely to be relegated) and fully professional. - B-League, 10 teams (18 rounds), with first place promoted and last place relegated. 2nd, 3rd, 4th enter playoff with A13th. Some professionals but mostly semi-professional. B-League teams also play NPL in winter. - C-League, which is a cup structure. 64 teams (6 rounds). Winner promoted. These teams play NPL in winter. Over time, the market will sort the teams out. Clubs with big followings will be able to afford better players. Clubs are allowed to fail - but they can pick themselves up again. With 88 teams the game would go to the suburbs, to the regional centres, as well as the major cities.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Yes. NFI. Perhaps.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I agree there was a bit of pandering to those in the soccer community who want quick movement. It's true that even in those public statements, he's hedging his bets, so deep down, probably knows it won't happen, but, there remains a small chance that the board might still go with it (expansion in 19-20). Timelines above all look pretty spot on.